It's A Small World
by Wasuranaide
Summary: She has suffered a painful past, and tries to hide it with her cold demeanor. He is ruthlessly unwilling to butt out of her troubles, and determined to find the key to her sealed heart. Will he succeed, or will he end up breaking it instead? HxR. R&R!
1. Chapter 1

**[ -It's A Small World- ]**

**-**

**author;** Wasuranaide

**genre;** romance/drama

**pairing;** HotaruxRuka

**disclaimer;** I don't own Gakuen Alice. –sob- I own original characters though! ;D

**summary;** Hotaru has suffered a painful past, and tries to hide it with her cold demeanor. Ruka is ruthlessly unwilling to butt out of her troubles, and determined to find the key to her sealed heart. Will he succeed, or will he end up breaking it instead? HxR.

**a/n;** My first fanfic starring HxR! Please read and review (: No flaming please. _Enjoy_. It might be confusing in the beginning, but you'll get it all after a few chapters I guess. XD

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_Thoughts_ and "dialogue".

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x-x-x

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I  
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A girl with amethyst eyes and dark, raven hair stood at the edge of the pond. Her eyes were glued to a couple across the pond. Her mouth was open in an 'o' shape, and her eyes showed clearly what she was thinking. They showed hurt, betrayal, and genuine shock.

"R-Ryou? _Mikan_?" Her voice cracked as a single tear slid down her cheek.

The couple turned and broke out of their embrace, staring at the girl with surprise. Guilt flashed to their eyes.

"H-H-Hotaru!" The brunette stammered. "Please, it's not what you think it i—"

The raven-haired girl took a few steps backward and covered her ears. "I don't want to hear your pitiful excuses,_ Sakura_." She snapped, her bangs covering her eyes. "I was a baka. Damn, I should shoot myself with the baka gun, shouldn't I?" She laughed, though there was no humour in it.

"I can explain, Hotaru-chan," the boy with blond hair begged, walking towards her slowly. "It really isn't—"

"Shut up," she growled, as more tears made their way down her cheeks. "I've seen enough. You kissed her, Nogi! You confessed to her, _proposed_, and kissed her!" Without pause, she fished out her voice recorder and pressed play.

**- -**

"_Mikan…" came his voice, a low baritone. "I've been meaning to tell you something for a long time…"_

"_What is it, Ryou-kun?" Through her tone, you could sense that Mikan was smiling._

"_I… I love you, Mikan."_

"_Haha, I knew that already! We've been going out for two years now!"_

"_I know… but…" there was a pause. "It's, um, almost Valentine's Day, so I'd like to ask…"_

_There was another pause. Mikan giggled. "Just say it, Ryou-kun!"_

"_W-Will you marry me? I mean, we're still young, but I mean, just get engaged, you know… we can marry in another few years… I want to be sure that you will be mine."_

"_You silly, of course I'm yours! I'll be yours forever!"_

"_You didn't say yes, baka."_

"_Hmph! Yes!"_

_BEEEEEEP._

_**- -**  
_

The recording ended, and now we focus on the trio again.

"Two years," she spat bitterly. "We've been together for two years as well. So all this time, you've been two-timing me, Nogi?"

"No! Hotaru-chan! You're taking this the wrong way!" The blond ran forward to her and pulled her into his arms.

BAKA! BAKA! He was blasted backwards and fell into the lake, sputtering and flailing his arms. The brunette ran to the edge, frantic. "Ryou-kun!"

"Sakura," Hotaru's voice was icy, searing through her bones. Even though the brunette had often seen Hotaru's attempted pokerface, she had never seen her like this before, never in their fourteen years together.

"Hotaru…"

"I hate you, Sakura." With one final glare at the now-sobbing brunette and the soaked blond, she ran away. She ran home, where she hid herself and cried for days. Ryou and Mikan and tried visiting, calling, emailing, and texting her, but her mother had shooed them away and she never even glanced at the phone and computer.

Her father often told her jokes to try to cheer her up, while her mother brought her meals. She thought they cared, and was glad that someone in her life cared for her. She felt loved and almost whole again.

But, boy was she wrong. Reality crashed down, unavoidable. They were only being nice because they felt guilty of what they were about to do. They _pitied_ her. She had learnt it the hard way that no one cared. Everyone lied, everyone was deceitful. The only thing she could trust was herself, in a world where everything depended on money. It was survival of the fittest, and she vowed that she would arise to the top.

-  
II  
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"Fifty thousand yen?" A man in a white mask, his long black robe gently swishing in the wind, spoke. His voice was clear and void of any emotion.

"Make it sixty thousand and you've got yourself a deal."

"Fifty five thousand."

The other man, looking in his forties and with raven hair, hesitated for a moment before uttering the final word. "Deal."

A suitcase was handed over, containing fifty five thousand yen in cash, and a raven-haired girl was pushed into a limousine. The exchange completed, the man in the white mask opened the door leading to the driver's seat, sat down, and drove off. The girl in the backseat was unmoving, staring out the window, as the scenery of her old village whizzed by. The car soon left the familiar paths of her village and was now on a road leading to the highway. They had arrived in Tokyo.

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III  
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Her eyes were cold as she surveyed the view in front of her. A bunch of tall buildings, surrounded by a gate eight metres tall, and a big golden sign reading '_Gakuen Alice_'; this would be her home from now on.

A blond-haired man in a disgusting pink tutu smiled encouragingly as he stepped out of the gate's entrance and walked towards her.

"You must be the new student, Imai Hotaru! Pleased to meet you, I'm Narumi-sensei, your homeroom teacher. Please follow me."

Without a word, she followed, not bothering to give one last look behind her as the gate closed with a creak.

As she heard the final slam of the gate, she knew she would not be able to leave this place for a long time. There was no point in leaving, really. Where could she go? She had nowhere to return to. It was time to face reality – she was sold, and she would have to stay with her owner. Her goddamn owner who had paid fifty thousand yen for her after haggling. Was her life only worth fifty five thousand yen, not even deserving sixty thousand? Was she only an item, a toy for sale sold to the one who offered the best deal?

Her stoic expression faltered a bit as a boy's face popped up in her mind, a picture of her and _him_, smiling, his blond hair gelled for the occasion. A caption below it read '_Happy Two Years_' in big, bolded letters. The picture had long been thrown in the garbage can, ripped in shreds, but she could still recall it. Another picture of her and the brunette, stating '_Best Friends Forever_', was even more painful.

She took a deep breath, recomposed herself, and continued to follow Narumi-sensei through the labyrinth of hallways in the academy she would call 'home'.

Home? A home was where she would feel welcome, safe, and supported by her family. In this place, she would be alone. Her family didn't care, and the ones she thought did care turned out to be all _lies_. She knew no one in this new place, and she had no intention of getting to know anyone. What was the point? They would betray you anyways.

Distantly, she heard Narumi call her name. "My dear class, meet the new student, Imai Hotaru-chan!"

She noticed that her name was called with the –chan suffix, and her heart skipped a beat. It was what _he_ used to call her… before she found out about the pool of_ lies_ he had been drowning her in.

Her voice came out in a snarl. "Don't call me that."

Narumi flinched, and she was satisfied. In her peripheral vision, she saw that some classmates had also been shocked with her tone, and the class was deathly quiet.

Narumi soon resumed his cheerfulness and pointed at the empty desk where she would sit.

As she made her way to the desk, she saw who she would be sitting beside. The resemblance was striking; although she could tell it wasn't the same person, she could see the familiar ruffled blond hair and sparkling blue eyes. She ignored the pang she felt and sat down, turning her attention to the front of the class as whispers erupted around her.

Some minutes later, a tap on her shoulder brought her out of her little reverie. She turned and caught herself staring straight into the kind, innocent blue eyes, that reminded her so much of him.

"Imai-san?" His voice was different, slightly higher and less manly, but soothing at the same time. "I'm Nogi Ruka."

Her eyes slightly widened for half a second before they returned to their normal size, cold and emotionless. She simply nodded before turning back, but her heart was racing.

_Nogi Ruka. __Nogi__._

It turns out that the man she had been trying to erase out of her life was the brother of her partner.

_What a small world._

-

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**To be continued..**

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A/N: **Hm, I hope it's not too confusing. I think it's all over the place ): I'll hopefully clear it up within a few chapters. Basically, I started out writing a NatsuMikan fic, but it got... weird and OOC. So I restarted with Hotaru and Ruka. I think they're somewhat easier to write. XD

I wanted so sort of make up a reason for Hotaru's coldness, and make her warm up to Ruka hopefully. Ryou is Ruka's brother, hence the last name Nogi. There might be some NatsuMikan in this fic, and possibly other couples, but I haven't decided yet. Hotaru and co are fourteen. The beginning two parts were flashbacks, sort of, and now the story begins with her arriving at Gakuen Alice. Dun dun dun!

Now.. please review! :D


	2. Chapter 2

**[ -It's A Small World- ]**

**-**

**Disclaimer: **Gakuen Alice is not mine. Original characters are mine however. :D

**A/N:** Chapter two is up! I hope it's good enough, I did it in a rush. I have midyear exams coming up soon, so I might not be able to update soon. Sorry!

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IV

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For the rest of the class, Hotaru never glanced at her partner. She let her thoughts wander, and found herself wondering what was happening in her old village. She had left so abruptly… although she was betrayed by them, she still wanted to see them one last time, to end things properly.

Her mind then drifted to the Nogi beside her. Ruka, wasn't it? She remembered Ryou – she mentally winced as the name popped up – had told her on occasions that he had a brother. He had been sent to some prestigious school in Tokyo, but at the time she hadn't given it much thought.

She felt anger surging through her pulse, a new, strange anger she had never experienced before. Her feelings of self-pity washed away, replaced with a burning anger and how they could do such a thing to her.

Sakura Mikan. She had been her neighbour since they were born, and practically hung out everyday, although Hotaru was reluctant at first. When Ryou moved to the village, Hotaru had sensed they had both stirred up feelings for him. She would have let Mikan have him, if that's what they both wanted. But when he asked her out… she was so delighted.

But now, the truth was out. He had asked both of them out, but it was obvious who he truly preferred. Not _her_. No one preferred her, she understood that much, but if he didn't want her, he could have just said it out straight. She would have been able to take it.

It would have been so much less painful for her, if she wasn't lead on into believing that she was actually wanted, if he didn't toy with her feelings.

Mikan had been the one who showed her how to have fun. She brought happiness and touched the hearts of everyone around her, Hotaru included.

Ryou had entered her life and brushed away all of her insecurities, replacing it with a surge of renewed hope for her future. _Their_ future.

How could she have predicted, that the two people she trusted the most, the two people she depended on, had betrayed her at the same time.

How _dare_ they.

As the bell rang, she stood up and bumped into the person next to her. Ruka.

"Sorry," he apologized. Then he looked closely at her face and gaped. "Imai-san… are you…"

She hadn't noticed that a few stray teardrops had made their way out of her eyes again. She thought she had none left anyway, after crying out buckets and rivers during the past few weeks. She let her bangs hide her puffy eyes and stalked out of the classroom, ignoring Ruka's calling of her name. She walked up the stairs to the room that she would be staying in, and to her surprise, it was nicer than she had imagined it. Maybe it was because of the fact that she hadn't known any better rooms; her room in the old rundown house of the village had been cramped, and peeling wallpaper was the only decoration. Her family – correction,_ the_ family – had been extremely poor. It was one of the reasons why she was sold off.

But no matter how poor they were, it didn't justify selling a fourteen-year-old to some faraway academy where she could never see the daylights again. Where she was restricted and kept within the academy grounds like a prisoner, without freedom.

The man in the white mask, Persona as she was told, had briefed her about Gakuen Alice in the car. Although she wasn't paying attention, she managed to hear his main points. She was a two-star, and had the Invention Alice. She would learn more about it the next day, he said, since that was when she would go to her ability class. For now, she was supposed to focus on getting a regular high school education.

It wasn't like she already didn't have one. She had long since known that her intellect was exceptionally high, but apparently the teachers here didn't. She would have to prove herself someday.

Hotaru flopped onto her bed and let herself rest, the first after many sleepless nights. It was time to move on. There was no point in dwelling on the past; it was time to change and focus on the future. The future when Imai Hotaru would be rich and famous… desired. A future where Imai Hotaru would be alone with bundles and suitcases full of cash. Not to mention a filthy rich bank account.

_Alone, but not lonely._

With that, she fell into a deep, dreamless slumber.

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V

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Before she stepped into her classroom the next day, she had solidified her resolve.

She was determined not to cry again. She refused to cry over them anymore. Her best friend, her boyfriend, her parents… they were all in the past. They meant nothing to her anymore.

So in a calm, expressionless manner, she entered the classroom and took her spot. Ruka was not here yet. In fact, half of the class still wasn't; she had woken up early today.

Quietly, she fingered her digital camera and proceeded to learn to use it. It had been in her room, lying on a table with a note attached to it, apparently from her technical abilities class teacher.

Itwas a nice one, twelve megapixels and four gigabytes of internal memory. Of course, Hotaru would tweak it later to make it even better – but that would come later, after she manages to control and use her alice better.

How was her alice discovered? Of course, it was discovered from the very essence of Imai Hotaru – her baka gun. Bored, she had spent a Sunday (and half of Monday) designing something that would notify Mikan of her idiocy. And thus, the notorious Baka Gun was created. News had spread far and wide that such an impossible invention had been invented, and so the academy contacted her parents. _Ex-parents_, she corrected dully.

Back to the present, a few girls had marched up to Hotaru. Raising her head, she stared at them emotionlessly, waiting for them to speak.

A girl with seaweed-coloured permed hair stepped forward. "Allow me to introduce myself," she said with a grand air, her nose pointed upwards. "My name is Shouda Sumire and I'm the President of the Natsume-Ruka Fan Club."

Noticing that it was her turn to speak, Hotaru sat unmoving and uttered one word. "…And?"

Sumire lost her patience. "Don't 'and' me! As President, I forbid you to sit next to Ruka-sama! Now move!" She fumed.

It turns out that Hotaru also lost her patience. And you know what happens when she does…

**BAKA! BAKA!** **BAKA!**

Three painful-looking lumps appeared on Sumire's head. She managed a weak "Y-you!" before seeing stars and collapsing onto the floor. Sumire's underlings dragged her out of the room.

The class had filled by then and had been watching the commotion by Hotaru's desk. They gasped and quickly looked away when Hotaru glared around the room. Looking to see that she had no objections, she was mildly satisfied and put away her gun, not noticing that beside her, a pair of cerulean eyes had narrowed at her in thought. He knew there was something she was hiding, and he was determined to find out what it was. He would have to be more careful – he shuddered as he remembered the tears on her face yesterday. He never knew what to do with crying girls.

But looking at her now, her face and resumed their emotionless position. For some unknown reason, he wanted her to smile. And he was extremely curious about this strange girl that somehow had already found her way into his heart, not that he would admit it.

Yes, he was determined to get to the bottom of things. And when Ruka Nogi is determined, he is confident that he would succeed.

_Imai-san… just what are you hiding?_

_-_

_**To be continued...**  
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_**[**_**A/N: **_Sorry for the late update ): I'll try to update more often after my midyear exams. For now, please click the button below & review! You know you want to ;D**]**_  
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